John Fraser Collection

More than 2000 books, ephemera and advertising material from the collection of John Fraser (1836-1902), Secretary of the printing and publishing department of Cope's Tobacco Company in Liverpool.

The books reflect Fraser's interest in Scottish literature, positivist philosophy, phrenology, bee-keeping and, particularly, tobacco; the collection also includes examples of the advertising material produced for Cope's under Fraser's direction between 1870 and 1894, as editor of their literary review Cope's Tobacco Plant (1870-1882) and the series of Smoke Room Booklets. The work of the artist John Wallace (1841-1903) and the writers James Thomson (1834-1882) and Richard Le Gallienne (1866-1947) is strongly represented.

Notable items include a rare complete set of James Hogg's The Spy (Edinburgh, 1811) and Robert Burns's Poems, chiefly in the Scottish dialect (Edinburgh, 1787), Kelmscott Press ephemera and James I's A Counterblaste to Tobacco (London, 1604). An obituary notice describes Fraser as "a Socialist, a Fabian, a zealous member of the Church of Humanity" (the collection includes a ticket for the opening service of the Liverpool Church of Humanity), but notes that "these extreme opinions were always held with moderation and courtesy." The collection was presented in 1957 and 1963 by Fraser's son Donald and his family.

The John Fraser Collection featured in a past Special Collections and Archives exhibition, Smokescreen: the Victorian Vogue for Tobacco. For more information see the Smokescreen past exibition page.